Beer: Ratings & Reviews

Reviews by antilogic:

Cask at Ginger Man in Norwalk. Only 24 casks in the US this winter, so I figured I'd give it a try.

Very smooth and low on carbonation, as expected from a cask. Nice sized white head that lingered.

Taste was good, but a little on the sweet side. Heavy on sugars, fruits and maybe some caramel and cherry. A nice change from a typical spiced winter warmer. Higher ABV than I expected, as it goes down smooth; however, almost too sweet.

More User Reviews:

Pours a clear medium brown with a thinner white head that is gone pretty fast,whoo this is a malt lovers dream here on the nose brown suger,orange rind,and prune dominate just a light touch of earth letting you know there are hops in there.Full almost syrupy mouth feel it coats the mouth before gliding down quite easily,the orange accents prune flavor is quite intense with notes of vanilla and cedar in the finish.Now this is a very complex sipping beer here only one would be enough for me cuzz it could get cloying,but still a very nice winter warmer I really liked the complexities.

Appearance  Dark brown with the appearance of dark sugar syrup. Absolutely no head to this one.

Smell  The big woody notes lead the way here, followed closely my dark malts, alcohol, and truckloads of sugar. Besides the table and brown, theres also an aroma of dark, overripe fruits that are liquefied. The brown scars on a banana come to mind.

Taste  Theres a new flavor here thats not in the aroma. Its very tart and alcoholic, almost like a shot of apple brandy. Otherwise, the big sugars and dark malt from the nose complete the taste.

Mouthfeel  This tastes a lot stronger than the ABV on the bottle. Besides that, its full and juicy.

Drinkability  Excellent ale for the Christmas holiday.

Comments  I reviewed the Elizabethan Ale yesterday, and this has to be from the same barrel.

Taste: Creamy smooth with minimal carbonation, almost velvety smooth from the oats. Full bodied with a big chewy malty mouth feel. Sweet with a quick flash of hop twang, hops struggle to keep up with the sweetness though they leave a trail of earthy oil straight into the after taste. Alcohol is slow to start, then warms more and more towards the end of the glass. Highly crystallized sugars in the crystal malt form a brown sugar like flavour with a mild burnt taste towards the finish. Residual sugars are plenty.

Notes: Close to a stock ale or strong ale from centuries past this brew is indeed a well fortified brew of body, strength and complexity. The most impressive winter seasonal I have had from the UK that is available state side.

2000 vintage, with a colorful, nativity painting from a Sussex, church on the label. Pours a clear, copperish red body with a small beige head of large bubbles on an aggressive pour.

Aroma knocks you back with a powerful assault of maltiness. Caramel, butterscotch, and molasses combine with a rum-like alcohol zing to immediately call you pay attention to this old ale. Some burnt oak wood lends a regal smokiness to the superb nose.

Mouthfeel isn't so exciting. Low carbonation is not a surprise for an aged English strong ale, and the vinous alcohol is appropriate and sherry-like.

The taste is quite complex. Bigtime malt flavors of caramel, toffee, and molasses start things off. Rum soaked dark fruits quickly let you know that you're dealing with a serious, strong ale here. This little bottle is full of surprises, as smoked almonds and a note of dark chocolate join the profile. You can sense a strong alcohol presence here, but it's a warming sensation wrapped up in the complexity of the flavors.

Very well crafted, and a near perfect winter warmer for a strong old ale from England. Have one of these and curl up in front of the fireplace on a cold, winter night. Wish I had bought a few more of these to cellar until next winter. The 2000 vintage will only get better with a bit of age.

T: Tastes of sweet, fruity malt with a lingering yeasty finish. Notes of prunes, dried fruit, port/sherry, caramel, brown sugar, mild toasted grain, fruity yeast esters, stewed leaves and a touch of cardboard. Possesses a subtle vinous quality that adds depth, along with a hint of booze. Quite sweet, followed by a leafy bitterness upon swallowing.

M: Mouthfeel is smooth and tingly, with soft carbonation and decent body for the style. Somewhat astringent, accompanied by an aftertaste of sweet, fruity malt, twiggy bitterness and stewed leaves/cardboard.

O: OK if not outstanding. Looks a tad lacklustre, while the aroma and flavour supply a reasonably interesting blend of rich, fruity malt notes and yeast esters. Sweet and slightly vinous, though the bitterness jars a little. Body is alright. Decent but not the greatest Xmas brew ever. Try it if you stumble across it.

Dark chestnut color, thin head that's speckly. Tiny dot laces. Very malty aroma, heavy amounts of dark caramel candy. Whopping in thickness and depth, bitter chocolate with about ten tablespoons of dark brown sugar mixed in. Low carbonation and lush mouthfeel. A whiskey-like alcohol takes over mid mouth to close, the heat works as much as the peppery hop to balance. Slightly unpleasant stewed prune effect and cloying aftertaste. Seasonal, a cold night beer seems to be the best niche -- like a pull on a bottle of Yukon Jack behind the bleachers at the High School Winter Dance...

Spencer at City Beverage said this was a 2005. Pours a light slightly murky brown color. Very thin head formed and was gone.
Aroma-sweet, malty, buttery, fruitcake-ish with lots of dried fruit aromas. Alcohol was detected on a deep inhale.
Mouthfeel-sweet mellow English Barleywine taste. This aged well and the hops have diminished to an almost nonexistant state. Alcohol is faint and this ale stays sweet to the finish. Very tasty and I would like to taste a fresh one sometime. It was very good as an after dinner beverage also.

A lot better than the Elizabethan ale, quite a raisiny syrup flavour, which i think is associated with most Harveys brews, but this doesn't go too over the top and it least it has a bit of spice to it, which adds a bit to the dimention of the beer overall, but still a little to sweet in my eyes.

A friend and I swap beers from our six packs so it is cheaper to try different brews. Since I never heard of Harvey's x-mas ale and its the holidays I thought its worth a try.

Blahhh, man was I wrong.

It poured dark brown with no head.
the smell was wretched raisins, prunes, and something rotten I presume.
the taste was terrible- raisin juice plain and simple. I swear Harvey is an inmate of Sing-Sing prison who makes this Pruno hootch in his toilet.
After 3 sips it was poured down the drain! Sorry Harvey!!

Dark red burgundy, cloudy and dense topped by a modest bubbly head. Aroma is tart and sweet, with green grapes, orange peel, lemon peel, purple grapes, plumbs, chocolate, pipe smoke, molasses, toffee, and probably a whole bunch of other stuff. The smell goes on forever until the next beer. Taste is similar in length. Nice balance between the sweetness and dry fruitiness. Body is full feeling but still like an ale. Nice mellow carbonation. Easy to drink at an enjoyable pace.

Murky dark rust with a thin, large-bubbled, lacy sandstone head.
Smells densely of leather and prune juice, interwoven with figs, tart stony cherries, and toffee, riding high atop an oaky port essence. Very few things are so sniffable, and even fewer that aren't chopped into lines.
Enters malty and blanketing. Like a big fuzzy caramel rug with patchwork raisins, molasses, and figs. A sense of smoked pork arrises, fading gradually to a tobacco spiciness. Prunes develop late, preluding the oak-rested port. A black grapiness holds the finish, with everlingering caramel nougat and suede.
This strikes a nimble balance of rich and drinkable.
A bit esoteric, and its eccentricities are difficult to accept up front. But by the finale of this (all too small) glass, I'm willing to call it classic.

A long-standing bottle pours a clear, deep mahogany body with crimson and orange highlights beneath a thin collar of creamy off-white foam. There's very little head (very British), but the soft and smooth mouthfeel more than makes up for that. It has a very fine, low-level, natural carbonation and medium/full body that work together to give it an impressive mouthfeel! The nose is lightly vinous with dark fruit (plum, cherry, a mild note of currant) and alcohol; but reveals some caramel with further investigation. The flavor is less fruity than the nose suggests; but still offers rich, juicy fruit (mainly cherry) wrapped in caramel and light cocoa with an underlying bitterness. It finishes dry with some residual fruit and caramel that slowly dissolves to reveal the wide bitterness and drying alcohol beneath. It's very well balanced; and the alcohol gives a pleasant warmth on the tongue, but never becomes more than secondary. Fairly rich and complex. Quite nice!

Harveys Christmas Ale: Whoa. Virtually no head to speak of, and I poured the crap out of it. Very lightly carbonated. The beer is a medium brown, which is very hazy, opaque. The aroma is strong, alcoholic with dried fruits like prunes and raisins. Not much of a beer, but not that bad of a plum wine or some such thing. Alcohol is, to me, the dominant flavor of this brew. Tastes are raisins, a little rum, and some Holiday/pumpkin pie spices. Weird candy aftertaste for some odd reason. Not so nice, do not bother.

275ml thin brown bottle without freshness date. Was labeled a 2002 vintage on the shelf.

Pours clear red-brown without head or lace. Smells sweet and toasted; full of raisins, spiced cookie dough, and caramel laced with alcohol spice. The taste is unexpected to say the least. Starts rounded and toasty, but rapidly turns quite bitter and unpleasant. Mostly an herbal sourness that develops out-of-control diacetyl and phenols in the finish. Medium-sticky body with surprisingly lively carbonation for the age. Perhaps worthwhile when fresh, but hard to tell at this age.

Originally reviewed May 6, 2005. 33 cL Bottle. Clear ruddy brown amber pour, with no head! No carbonation. Plums, wine and madera aromas. Extremely sweet and full of lots of raisins. This beer has been on the shelf for a while, maybe somewhat light struck, with some vinous notes and a background of extremely sugary malt. No hops, but typical of an english barleywine. Raisins are really strong throughout. Finishes mellow, with light honey and more plum. Depth seems shallow, but the strong raisins and grapes notes are interesting. Overall, a little too sugary without character.

Dark ruby coloured with a strong toffee/caramel aroma. Strong on maltiness, fruitiness, and sherry notes; warming, Christmas-pudding-like. A hearty beer to savour on a cold night. Enjoyed to its full potential yesterday evening at a snowbound Spuyten Duyvil, Brooklyn.